Super Dodge Ball Advance

"The Gameboy Advance really is advanced...."

Introduction
If anybody knows me really well, I am a huge dodgeball fan. Since I was a wee lad, I have played dodgeball with my friends, and continue to do so. I have enjoyed this sport for many years, so of course I wondered why dodgeball never had any videogames dedicated to the sport. Dodgeball is (in my opinion) better than Soccer and Football, so why shouldn't it have a seris of games? Well, they have. The game is titled ''Super Dodgeball Advance'' which was one of the Game Boy Advance's launch games, and the second I played. So how did I like it? I thought it was a fun and delightful game, though could have used more teams. The Sound generally went well with the game, same with the Graphics.

Graphics 8.2/10
Compared to other launch games like Super Mario Advance, this is pretty advanced for a portable SNES. The game has a 3D feel, the players look polygonal. The game takes place at a angle on the side of the court, and the camera never got in the way of action. The animation is gorgeous, throws have a sense of awe of pain when one of these super throws smash your oponent into orbit. Even walking animation is a beauty to look at. The backgrounds look a little too plain, but thats forgivable.

Sound 7.1/10
Standard GBA sound. The Menu music is as annoying as heck, and will annoy you under ten seconds. However, the battle music is just plain intese, it feels like I am still playing dodgeball, and that huge guy has the ball, and focuses on me. Sound Effects are just what you should expect for this type of game.

Gameplay 8.7/10
The place where the game really shines. There a total of nine teams (not including created teams and unlockables) each from diffrent countries. Normally, you play as your created team, and chose to fight one of these teams. The teams vary in difficulty. The Chinesh Dragons and Russian Bears are really easy, but the Austrailian Stars are hard. Before every fight, you can modify you team's name, change your formationm, rename players, and edit their style. This gives this game an edge most other portable games don't have. You can customize much about your team, without wasting a lot of time. Fights are simply enough to control. Move around with the direction pad, Press A to Duck and B to catch, or B to throw. One thing about this game that is diffrent from normal dodgeball is you have HP, and each throw takes away that. Normally when the ball hits you your out. In addition to normal throws there are super throws. These throws fly in complex patterns and do huge amount of damage in the 70s or higher (normal throws take away 16-40 HP). This keeps matches from lasting hours :-). This game also features a multiplayer feature, but it can be no fun since the other player catches the ball 95% of the time. The game is also pretty short, I would have loved to see more. But these flaws are forgivable, as Super Dodgeball is a great game.

Challenge 7.4/10
This game should present a decent challenge to all who play it. One problem, the harder team's strategies are REALLY cheap.

Replay Value 7.9/10
If your like me, you will keep playing this game for weeks after you beat it.

Buy or Rent?
No question about it. This is a great GBA launch title, buy it when you see it.

Overall 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/28/01, Updated 06/28/01